Having your kids suddenly decide that they want to ride motorcycles is a mixed blessing. Whilst on the one hand it might give you the opportunity to buy another bike or two, on the other hand I’m hypocritical enough (and been busted up often enough because of it) to really rather they didn’t. I have two daughters, they are in their mid 20s and have been driving cars for years.
My youngest, who cycles quite a bit decided she quite fancied the idea - now that her athletic aspirations have dissolved away through extended periods of sports related injuries. I booked her on to a very local CBT course on a proper ‘clutched’ bike and she had a torrid time. The area for riding was really too small, and there was way too much misogynist biker banter from the crew running it. So she didn’t pass on that one, and I want my money back.
I was more surprised that my eldest was going to give it a go. Turns out it is at her husbands insistence. He has just taken the course and got a ‘cheap’ voucher for her to do the same (this being in Edinburgh where they live). She has yet to book herself on to that.
They were home at the weekend and as I had my pals Serow XT225 in for service I thought we’d take it out on a local car park for some extra experience. The youngest was soon doing circuits and bumps no problem. The eldest managed to throw it down on the ground a total of three times before deciding that she really really hated the whole thing.
How we all laughed.
Just need some story now for how the bike is how it is when my pal comes to collect.
My daughter started riding when she was 16 and wanted a geared bike so we bought an old Suzuki ZR50 and got it MOT’d and she did her CBT on that with a good local instructor. Used it to get around to part-time jobs etc. When she was 18 she had to re-do it, but went to a different place. She rode down on her own bike and did all the practice on that, but they bullied her into going out on the road on their 125 as she was over 17, having never even sat on it before. I know they’re only lightweight bikes but she’s only 7 stone and 5 ft 2 and it’s bigger/heavier than the little ZR50. She dropped it at the first set of lights, and although they gave her the ticket after they’d picked her up and completed the rest of the ride, she lost her confidence and hardly ever rode again after. I thought they were quite irresponsible.
This is a great shame, and the misogynist bit. 
When I was in the RAC/ACU scheme way back in the early '80’s there was none of that even then. Would’ve thought there should be even less now.
As for forcing someone to go out onto the public road for the first time on a bigger bike they’ve never used before, madness! No way we’d do that.
Mike, I agree with RR that they were irresponsible, but nowhere did he say their actions were due to her being female, they could easily bully a young lad. Your reference to misogynists should be treated with caution as it appears to me to be of your own invention.
The misogynist term was mine. Were they being overtly sexist, or was it just the usual overbearing bigger balled biker bloating? The kind of thing that often seems to spout forth at so many motorcyclist gatherings and why I mostly try and avoid them.
Whatever, that and the unnecessary BS political commentary on the current state of Brexit negotiations she could have done without.
I apologise Mike, I didn’t read back far enough. Humble Pie sounds good 
Is that why you have not been attending the Essex branch meetings?
To be fair in my albeit limited experience that type of thing is commendably absent at Essex Branch meets although I realise that that your comment was tongue in cheek.
Indeed it was before I get hauled in front of the PC police
Essex Branch and the Club more generally are proper people. I guess once you’ve stepped up to a Guzzi you have very little left to prove.